James Fort

The only known sketch of the fort established at Jamestown, this crude image shows its location along the banks of the James River. This representation is a detail from the Zúñiga chart, a manuscript map that was probably a tracing of John Smith's 1608 map of Virginia. The chart was sent to King Philip III of Spain by his ambassador to England, Don Pedro de Zúñiga. According to scholars, the x on the map indicates a church, and what appears to be a flag is actually the outline of a rectangular enclosure of some kind. The dots leading to the river may indicate where watchtowers were in place.